Hey guys,
Just wanted to give a semi-brief shoutout to Bruce at FTBR (ac427cobra), even though im sure hes gotten this praise thousands of times already haha.
So my first impression was reading the complete guide on how to make the IRS in the cobras work for us rather than against us, it was actually through Snake Eye's "The IRS Tech Article" (http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/showthread.php?213384-The-IRS-Tech-Article ) - All cobra owners who havent already, READ THIS - that I noticed a bit more about FTBR than just my own research. Once I started talking to him, hes obviously the right guy to go with. Hes friendly, REALLY knows his stuff, and has facts/proof to back everything up that he does. Its just great. I ordered literally almost everything he has on his site under suspension components for the 99-04 IRS, so I cant really comment on individual components doing this or doing that, however I can on the overall effect and quality of the parts.
Ill start by saying, these are some of the best parts ive ever bought. Everything just "felt" like it was absolutely worth the money, it wasnt like those few hundred dollar car parts for freakin ABS plastic kind of feeling. You are absolutely paying for what you get here, even taking into account the amount of science behind the parts whether it be its physical construction or how it functions in a system with the other parts, everything was accounted for and well thought out.
In terms of ride quality, I would say the only true test would be for somebody to get in my car after having drove a stock 99-04 IRS equipted cobra, its literally like night and day but words cant describe it. The confidence is almost scary, as much as I push it I feel like i could take any corner going 200mph haha. The car just squats and goes. I have not launched it hard yet, as it has 3.73's in it now (as opposed to the 3.27's) but once they are broken in I plan to beat her a bit. There is literally not an ounce of NVH, the car doesnt break your ass (actually feels ironically better over bumps!) and the car feels much more planted going into corners with ease. For perspective, if youve ever driven an early model WRX (My DD Is a 02 WRX) and thought the handling was great, I can easilly say the cobra could run circles around it in a heart beat. And for somebody thinking "Man this guys stupid, his old rubber everything was probably worn out so of course it was bad!" The car only has 50k miles on it, so trust me it wasnt that.
The only thing I would note that was a pain, was the install. Most of the bushings took no effort.. until I got to the LCA's. My god what a pain. But overall it ended up being fine after lots of swearing and throwing wrenchs. The instructions Bruce includes are second to none however, and he even has a few videos here and there on his website to help with visual aids. Even with my half busted motor right now, the full overhaul on the IRS has given the car new life, THIS is how ford should have done it from the start. This is in my mind, an ESSENTIAL mod that no matter what the situation or reasoning, could not be exempt from a build sheet of even a "almost stock" cobra. I would definantly rate it as high as "Intake, exhaust, gears, tune.. FTBR IRS kit"
Bruce, again my man you are the best. Youve forever changed this car, and it was absolutely for the better. Please, for the love of 99-04 cobras, dont ever stop producing these parts until theres somehow a way of tracking down every cobra and making sure any of the them with a IRS still equipt is fitted with your products. Sorry to all SRA traitors that threw all of fords money away, youll never know the joy of this great handling! (just kidding I love all cobras haha)
Just wanted to give a semi-brief shoutout to Bruce at FTBR (ac427cobra), even though im sure hes gotten this praise thousands of times already haha.
So my first impression was reading the complete guide on how to make the IRS in the cobras work for us rather than against us, it was actually through Snake Eye's "The IRS Tech Article" (http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/showthread.php?213384-The-IRS-Tech-Article ) - All cobra owners who havent already, READ THIS - that I noticed a bit more about FTBR than just my own research. Once I started talking to him, hes obviously the right guy to go with. Hes friendly, REALLY knows his stuff, and has facts/proof to back everything up that he does. Its just great. I ordered literally almost everything he has on his site under suspension components for the 99-04 IRS, so I cant really comment on individual components doing this or doing that, however I can on the overall effect and quality of the parts.
Ill start by saying, these are some of the best parts ive ever bought. Everything just "felt" like it was absolutely worth the money, it wasnt like those few hundred dollar car parts for freakin ABS plastic kind of feeling. You are absolutely paying for what you get here, even taking into account the amount of science behind the parts whether it be its physical construction or how it functions in a system with the other parts, everything was accounted for and well thought out.
In terms of ride quality, I would say the only true test would be for somebody to get in my car after having drove a stock 99-04 IRS equipted cobra, its literally like night and day but words cant describe it. The confidence is almost scary, as much as I push it I feel like i could take any corner going 200mph haha. The car just squats and goes. I have not launched it hard yet, as it has 3.73's in it now (as opposed to the 3.27's) but once they are broken in I plan to beat her a bit. There is literally not an ounce of NVH, the car doesnt break your ass (actually feels ironically better over bumps!) and the car feels much more planted going into corners with ease. For perspective, if youve ever driven an early model WRX (My DD Is a 02 WRX) and thought the handling was great, I can easilly say the cobra could run circles around it in a heart beat. And for somebody thinking "Man this guys stupid, his old rubber everything was probably worn out so of course it was bad!" The car only has 50k miles on it, so trust me it wasnt that.
The only thing I would note that was a pain, was the install. Most of the bushings took no effort.. until I got to the LCA's. My god what a pain. But overall it ended up being fine after lots of swearing and throwing wrenchs. The instructions Bruce includes are second to none however, and he even has a few videos here and there on his website to help with visual aids. Even with my half busted motor right now, the full overhaul on the IRS has given the car new life, THIS is how ford should have done it from the start. This is in my mind, an ESSENTIAL mod that no matter what the situation or reasoning, could not be exempt from a build sheet of even a "almost stock" cobra. I would definantly rate it as high as "Intake, exhaust, gears, tune.. FTBR IRS kit"
Bruce, again my man you are the best. Youve forever changed this car, and it was absolutely for the better. Please, for the love of 99-04 cobras, dont ever stop producing these parts until theres somehow a way of tracking down every cobra and making sure any of the them with a IRS still equipt is fitted with your products. Sorry to all SRA traitors that threw all of fords money away, youll never know the joy of this great handling! (just kidding I love all cobras haha)
